Aussies learn draw for AFC under-23 soccer

Australia have been drawn with South Korea, Syria and Vietnam in Group D of the Asian under-23 football championship to be played in January in China.

The official draw for the tournament was made on Tuesday in China.

Australian under-23 men's coach Josep Gombau said the championship would be key for his team from both development and sporting perspectives.

"Next year's tournament in China represents a fantastic development opportunity for our players who are aspiring to become the next generation of Socceroos," Gombau said.

"All of the groups will be tough, and that certainly goes for ours, too.

"We will go to China with the ambition to win the competition, but also to expose our players to international football at a high level."

The competition will be contested from January 8-27.

AFC Under-23 Championship Groups:

* Group A: China PR, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Oman

* Group B: Japan, North Korea, Thailand, Palestine

* Group C: Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia

* Group D: South Korea, Australia, Syria, Vietnam